Holder



Deg. 30, 1941 s. 'r. LEONARD ETAL 2,268,077

HOLDER Filed Aug. 7, 1940 I J I I Invent Y or I; J, rid 17/ A iiorney Patented Dec. 30, 1941 HOLDER Stephen '1. Leonard and David O'Neill, New York, N. Y.

Application August 7, 1940, Serial No. 351,764

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to improvements in holders, the principal object in view being to provide an inexpensive, lightweight, and serviceable device for use on restaurant counters, tables,

- and the like, for holding menus in upright poferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing, set forth in detail in the succeeding description, and defined in the claims appended hereto.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in top plan, partly broken away, of the preferred embodiment of our invention, and

Figure 2 is a view in transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing by numerals, the holder of our invention, in the illustrated embodiment thereof, comprises a substantially rectangular, one-piece tray I, of suitable metal, having a bottom I, a front wall 2, side walls 3, and a back 4 comprising parallel longitudinally extending walls 5, spaced apart laterally, and a straight-sided trough 6 extending longitudinally between said walls and connected thereto by a pair of front and rear top webs I and 8. The front wall 2, side walls 3, and back walls 5 extend below the bottom I and support the latter, and the back walls 5 extend above said bottom I equidistantly so as to locate the open top of the trough above said bottom. The front top web 8 underlies and is spaced from a top web 9 extending from the adjacentback wall 5 and forming with said web 8 a horizontal guideway I0 in the back 4 in front of the trough 6 at the top thereof. A vertically disposed clamping plate II is provided in the trough 6 for cooperation with the rear side thereof to clamp the lower edges of menus, not shown, therebetween to hold. said menus in upright position, said plate having a right angled upper edge flange for adjusting said plate ll into different set positions.

The bottom wall I is provided with a large, annular, open bottomed socket I6 in the transverse center thereof for seating a sugar shaker, not shown, therein. A pair of similar, but smaller, sockets I1 are provided in said bottom I upon opposite sides of the socket I6 and forwardly of the latter for salt and pepper shakers, not shown.

As will be seen, one or more menus may be yieldingly clamped in the trough B for ready removal or replacement and the open bottom sockets It, I I, provide for the contents of the shakers when spilled on the tray being brushed out of the sockets onto the counter or table to be confined under the tray so that they will not be scattered over the same,

The foregoing will, it is believed, suflice to impart a clear understanding of our invention Without further explanation.

Manifestly the invention, as described, is susceptible of modification without departing from the inventive concept, and right is herein reserved to such modifications as fall within the scope of the subjoined claims.

What we claim is:

1. A holder for use on a counter, or the like,

to hold menus comprising a rectangular base,

a double-walled back structure rising above said base and formed with a longitudinally extending straight-sided trough therein standing menus in the same, and a longitudinally extending clamping plate in said trough mount-.

ed therein for adpjustment into different set positions to yieldingly clamp the menus to one side of the trough.

2. A holder for use on a counter, or the like, to hold menus comprising a rectangular base, a double-walled back structure rising above said base and formed with a longitudinally extending straight-sided trough therein adapted for standing menus in the same, and a longitudinally extending clamping plate in said trough mounted therein for adjustment into different set positions to yieldingly clamp the menus to one side of the trough, the mounting for said plate comprising a right-angled flange thereon, and a horizontal guideway in said top structure, said flange being slidably mounted in said guideway,

and means to establish the set positions of said plate.

. DAVID ONEILL.

STEPHEN T. LEONARD.

adapted for 

